Sleep is very important. A person who does not sleep dies faster than a person who does not eat. We spend about a third()of our lives in sleep. That’s about 121 days a year!
How much sleep do we need? We are all different. A baby needs 16 hours of sleep every day. Children of 6 to 12 years of age need an average(平均)of 10 to 12 hours of sleep. Teenagers need 9 to 10 hours of sleep. An adult needs an average of 7 to 8 hours a day. There are some people who need only 3 hours of sleep; others need 10 hours of sleep. After the age of 50, the average sleep time goes down to 6.5 hours a day. We need less sleep as we get older.
About one in three Americans has a problem with sleep. Many of these people cannot fall asleep. The name for this problem is insomnia. Some people say, “I didn’t sleep all night.” But that’s not really true. They may sleep lightly and wake up several times. In the morning, they only remember the time they were awake, so they think they were awake all night.
This is not a new problem. Many famous people in history had insomnia. Some of these people had special ideas to make themselves sleep. Benjamin Franklin had four beds. He moved from one to the other to fall asleep. Mark Twain had a different way. He lay on his side across the end of the bed!
【小題1】How long do we spend in sleep a year?

A．Less than three months.	B．More than five months.
C．About four months.	D．Less than 2000 hours.

【小題2】If you are thirteen years old, you need at least __________ hours of sleep.

A．16

B．12

C．9

D．7

【小題3】What does the underlined word “insomnia” mean in this passage?

A．No sleep.

B．Fast sleep.

C．Slow sleep.

D．Sleep with many dreams.

【小題4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．We will die soon if we don’t sleep well.

B．The older we get, the less sleep we need.

C．We can tell a person’s age from his sleep time.

D．Famous people move from one bed to the other to fall asleep.

【小題5】Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Sleep less	B．Go to sleep
C．Age and sleep time	D．Famous people and sleep

Sleep is very important. A person who does not sleep dies faster than a person who does not eat. We spend about a third()of our lives in sleep. That’s about 121 days a year!
How much sleep do we need? We are all different. A baby needs 16 hours of sleep every day. Children of 6 to 12 years of age need an average(平均)of 10 to 12 hours of sleep. Teenagers need 9 to 10 hours of sleep. An adult needs an average of 7 to 8 hours a day. There are some people who need only 3 hours of sleep; others need 10 hours of sleep. After the age of 50, the average sleep time goes down to 6.5 hours a day. We need less sleep as we get older.
About one in three Americans has a problem with sleep. Many of these people cannot fall asleep. The name for this problem is insomnia. Some people say, “I didn’t sleep all night.” But that’s not really true. They may sleep lightly and wake up several times. In the morning, they only remember the time they were awake, so they think they were awake all night.
This is not a new problem. Many famous people in history had insomnia. Some of these people had special ideas to make themselves sleep. Benjamin Franklin had four beds. He moved from one to the other to fall asleep. Mark Twain had a different way. He lay on his side across the end of the bed!
【小題1】How long do we spend in sleep a year?

A．Less than three months.	B．More than five months.
C．About four months.	D．Less than 2000 hours.

【小題2】If you are thirteen years old, you need at least __________ hours of sleep.

A．16

B．12

C．9

D．7

【小題3】What does the underlined word “insomnia” mean in this passage?

A．No sleep.

B．Fast sleep.

C．Slow sleep.

D．Sleep with many dreams.

【小題4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．We will die soon if we don’t sleep well.

B．The older we get, the less sleep we need.

C．We can tell a person’s age from his sleep time.

D．Famous people move from one bed to the other to fall asleep.

【小題5】Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Sleep less	B．Go to sleep
C．Age and sleep time	D．Famous people and sleep

Sleep is very important. A person who does not sleep dies faster than a person who does not eat. We spend about a third（1/3） of our lives in sleep. That’s about 121 days a year!

How much sleep do we need? We are all different. A baby needs 16 hours of sleep every day. Children 6 to 12 years old need an average（平均） of 10 to 12 hours of sleep. Teenagers need 9 to 10 hours of sleep. An adult needs an average of 7 to 8 hours a night. There are some people who need only 3 hours of sleep. Others need 10 hours of sleep. After the age of 50, the average sleep time goes down to 6.5 hours a night. We need less sleep as we get older.

About one in three Americans has a problem with sleep. Many of these people cannot fall asleep. The name of this problem is insomnia. Some people say, “I didn’t sleep all night.” But that’s not really true. They may sleep lightly and wake up several times. In the morning, they only remember the times they were awake（醒著）, so they think they were awake all night.

This is not a new problem. Many famous people in history had insomnia. Some of these people had special ideas to make them sleep. Benjamin Franklin had four beds. He moved from one to the other to fall asleep. Mark Twain had a different way. He lay on his side across the end of the bed!

1．If you are thirteen years old, you need at least ______ hours of sleep.

A．16                  B．12                  C．9                   D．7

2．What does “insomnia” mean in this passage?

A．No sleep.                                                B．Bad sleep.

C．Slow sleep.                                             D．Sleep with many dreams.

3．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．We will die soon if we don’t sleep well.

B．The older we get, the less sleep we need.

C．We can tell a person’s age from his sleep time.

D．Famous people move from one bed to the other to fall asleep.

4．Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Sleep More!                                  B．Go to Sleep!

C．Age and Sleep Time                             D．Famous People and Sleep

“Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB)” is a term for a group of conditions that can influence normal breathing while people sleep. These include snoring (打鼾), mouth-breathing and sleep apnea. Sleep-disordered breathing can do more than just leave people feeling tired the next day. It can also have an effect on people's health. In children the effects can include behavioral and emotional problems.

In a new study, researchers asked parents about their children's breathing from when they were babies up to about age six. The study involved about eleven thousand children.

Karen Bonuck at the Einstein College of Medicine in New York led the study. She says, “The central finding overall is that sleep-disordered breathing is connected with a fifty percent increase in adverse neurobehavioral (不利的神經(jīng)行為) outcomes.” She adds that the more serious the breathing problems, the more serious the behavioral issues were likely to be. Other studies have linked sleep with children's behavior, but this study could be able to reject (排除) other possible causes.

The study appears in the journal Pediatrics. It’s estimated one child in ten snores regularly. A smaller number suffer (遭受) from other sleep-disordered breathing.

How well do you sleep? A popular belief is that sleep gets worse with age. But, in another new study, those who reported the fewest problems with the quality (質(zhì)量) of their sleep were people in their eighties.

Researchers did a telephone survey of more than one hundred fifty thousand American adults. Michael Grandner at the University of Pennsylvania medical school says the starting goal was to prove that aging is connected with increased sleep problems.

The survey did find an increase during middle age, worse in women than men. But except for that, people reported that their sleep quality improved as they got older. At least they felt it did.

Mr. Grandner says, “Even if sleep among older Americans is actually worse than in younger adults, feelings about it still improve with age.”

The findings appear in the journal Sleep. In the study, health problems and sadness were linked with poor sleep. Also, women reported more sleep disturbances and tiredness than men.

But, based on the study, Mr. Grandner says older people who are not sick or depressed should be reporting better sleep. “If they’re not, they need to talk to their doctor. They shouldn’t just take no notice of it,” he says. Nor should their doctor turn a blind eye to it. He says doctors generally dismiss sleep complaints (抱怨) from older adults as a normal part of aging.

57. From the passage we can learn that ______.

A. middle-aged men have more sleep problems than women

B. the older people get, the better the quality of sleep will be

C. doctors don’t take sleep complaints from older adults seriously

D. children suffer more mouth-breathing than other SDB conditions

58. What can we infer from the passage?

A. SDB can bring about serious illness to people.

B. Older adults think they get better sleep than they actually do

C. Ms. Bonuck’s studies have linked sleep with children's behavior.

D. A key period for children’s behavioral development is from 0 to 6.

59. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Who sleeps Well, who lives Well

B. Who Sleeps Better, the Young or the Old?

C. New Findings on Sleep in Children, Older Adults

D. New Findings on Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Health